When Trulli tried to pass

Karun Chandhok, who drives for HRT-Cosworth, talks about the Monaco GP and the progress of his team.

Karun Chandhok.

HRT was on course to finish as best of the newcomers in Monaco, but then Jarno Trulli tried to pass you at Rascasse. Game over... Jarno apologised straight away. He obviously had a bit of brain fade. Even if I hadn't been there, I don't think he'd have had enough steering lock to make the corner, given the line he took.

It looked quite dramatic, with his car riding over the top of yours. How did it feel from where you were sitting? To be honest, I was just interested in carrying on, if I could. I looked in my mirrors to see whether my rear wheels were still attached, but that's when I noticed Jarno's Lotus was still on top of me. Did the floor of his car make contact with your head?

No, I ducked ... Things have been difficult for HRT. How do you assess progress? Things are moving in the right direction. I'm usually pretty happy with my pace on Sundays. I think I drove well in Spain and again in Monaco, which was probably my best race of the year. Generally our race pace seems OK compared with the other new teams, but we struggle in qualifying and so far we haven't been able to identify a reason.

And in the longer term? I have to look after my own self-interests, obviously, but if this team continues to improve I'd love to stay here. As long as there's a car for me, I'll drive the backside off it - that's all I can do. [e-mail]